#Commodities

[aseaofquotes]

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

[anarchistin]

as a communist i do not care abstractly about questions like "will i be able to acquire this commodity at exactly the same rate in exactly the same locations" because the way they reach distribution centers is premised on exploitation, violence, and in many cases genocide

those people matter to me, the people whose lives were transformed into cogs for profit. for extraction. thats the relationship i want to change.

if that means less bananas fine. if it means more bananas fine. bananas arent the aim. emancipation is.

source

[vintagepromotions]

'The taxes you pay for the war To fight for peace is to fight against dear life'

French Communist Party poster (c. 1930).

[ahb-writes]

Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions (Trade, Commerce, and Industry)

Trade, Commerce, and Industry Worldbuilding Questions:

What is the primary currency in this world? Does each region have its own?

What is the standard (such as the gold standard) by which currency is valued?

Who has more relative trading power and why? Which commodities are valued the most?

Who is paid the most because their labor is valued highest? Who is paid the least? Or is labor compensated equally (and do pay grades vary by region)?

Where are the biggest centers of trade and industry? Why are they in these locations?

Where are the main trading routes and what are landmarks or places of interest along their way?

When was this world most or least prosperous, and why?

When business is conducted, what are the customs, signs of trust (like signatures on Earth), formalities?

Why is a specific trade more common than others (what context underpins it)?

Why are certain trades growing or waning in popularity?

❯ ❯ ❯ Read other writing masterposts in this series: Worldbuilding Questions for Deeper Settings

[animanightmate]

We need to talk about this bad boy

Émile Bonnaire. Adventurer, mercantile traveller, ladies’ man. Likes a drink, likes a laugh, loves to tell tall tales. Flamboyant, fun, and impressively fleshed out by the tiny, dapper, gravel-voiced charms of James Callis. Even his name derives from the French for “a good time” (or, depending where you look: “good bloodline”).

We first meet him accompanied by jaunty music on his way from the docks to a tavern, tipping his hat to interested women with a smirking flash of big, dark, pretty eyes, before roaring his intentions to pay for everyone’s drinks as he bursts through the door.

A bit of a rogue, Bonnaire. A bit of a weasel too, but a funny one. And he has an excellently aggressive wife.

Bonnaire is the kind of person who gets other people into trouble but always slips free himself. Pay attention - that’s going to be important later.

Once he’s successfully wriggled his way back into the clutches of the Musketeers, he treats Porthos (and us) to the glories of his exotic wanderings, revealing himself to be something of a liar, or just prone to exaggeration and fawning.

So far, so funny.

Except that the people he’s pissed-off have a habit of finding him, and again it’s those around him who pay the price. Our lads drag a potentially mortally wounded Porthos on to Athos’s old house and, despite comedy punching, it’s clear that things have taken a turn for the serious. The music is cluing us in, you see.

And it turns out that being beholden, duty, debts owed, and notions of family and belonging are massive themes here. As well as definitions of humanity, of who gets to be chattel. Of who gets to own the enacted tragedy.

Porthos rails and growls, and Bonnaire defends himself, claiming that the barbaric (“disgusting” - thanks, Athos) acts he’s perpetrating in the name of profit are “strictly business”. Not prejudice. Porthos spells it out for us, time and again: people are not belongings, everyone is free, no man has a right to own and dispose of another living soul. Except Bonnaire is. Except Athos has. Except the King and Richelieu do, and will. Arguably, these men who kill for duty, as Maria Bonnaire threatens for love (and is killed for revenge) are part of that same culture of disposable humanity.

The episode shows us this, asks us to consider a multi-faceted view of people and their motives and actions. People can be noble and be murderers. People can be friendly and polite, and ruthless killers. People can be charming and fun and human traffickers.

We have a problem in this fandom. A pretty big one, and frankly an old one too. Dumas, for example, seemed to be showing us an unredeemably monstrous Milady while simultaneously demonstrating that, in the society where she found herself, she had little choice - drown, or by killed for a witch, essentially. Tragic, noble, beautiful Athos drowns his sorrows under a nom de guerre, and charges at well-armed enemies in a bid to escape from a crime that d’Artagnan labels correctly as murder right from the get-go in the books. And in the show, Athos condemns Milady over and over for the sins that he himself commits, of killing at the command of the powers-that-be, forever drawn to and repulsed by a woman who shows him all-too-clearly what they both are, and have chosen to be. And yet certain facets of fandom cannot see Milady as anything but evil, and Athos as thoroughly blameless. So many adaptations (or perceptions of them) see Richelieu as nothing but a big old panto baddie and d’Artagnan as a beloved puppy who never did anything wrong. Hi. We have some things we need to address. Dumas gave us a raft of characters who are frankly horrible, selfish, violent people, every one of them flawed in some way, every one of them with issues they need to face, sins to atone for. We do the source material an injustice if we reduce them to simply Good Guys and Bad Guys.

And here, in response to an adaptation deliberately rendered for a modern audience, with dozens of layers in every interlocking scene and arc, people persist in seeing Bonnaire as a funny wee guy who was merely a bit greedy. But he’s funny and flash, so no real harm done, huh? Oh, he’s misguided, not evil! 

The late, great Terry Pratchett broke down millennia of debate by saying that evil starts by treating people as things. Oh, it may head elsewhere, become more granular and a matter of opinion, but actually it’s pretty simple: don’t treat people as commodities.

The people who watch that episode and come away uncritical Bonnaire stans stagger me. This one isn’t even subtle - not only does he leave his beloved wife to die; not only does he lie and cheat and slide away from accountability at every turn, but Porthos roars (and later mutters) an absolute and no-holds-barred, emotional and intellectual take-down of the ethical nadir, the moral pit that is perpetrating slavery. He outlines in pitiless detail what it really means to the individuals (“Men, women, and children!”). He show how the long-term effects of that abuse, even once freed, shorten a person’s life, have resounding repercussions through generations. And he must feel so alone - the others holding him back from hurting Bonnaire, Athos telling him “Yes, it’s horrible, but it’s legal, and we have our duty to take this man to the Cardinal,” before ducking out of said duty himself to go on an drinking binge epic even by his standards. The others are more sympathetic, but still follow the course set for them by their superiors.

I want to tell the Bonnaire fans: yeah, he’s supposed to be fun and funny. You’re supposed to pick up that people can be interesting and quirky and ABSOLUTELY, THOUGHTLESSLY EVIL. That evil isn’t just the simple, unattractive thuggery of Labarge et al, it’s men doing ruthless things for the good of their country or for profit or for love or for power. It’s people feeling desperate and it’s people feeling dutiful. It’s not any one thing (except, at root, commoditising people), and just because they sold the role, doesn’t mean that the actor didn’t understand that either.

This is the message that I want them to understand: evil can look pretty. Evil can be charming. Evil can seem absolutely harmless. Evil can make you laugh, feel flattered, feel affection, feel pity. Yes, there are moral grey areas in the world, but human trafficking is not, cannot, and will never be anything other than irredeemable savagery. Slavery is cruel and vile and inhumane. And just because something has never been condemned in law, does not mean it is justifiable if it diminishes lives.

And just because you find someone attractive does not mean they’re the good guy. Come on, now.

[forexgold28]

GOLD (XAU/USD) Market Update:

Gold has reached $2642, poised for further upside.

Uptrend Targets:

$2650-55 (initial resistance)

$2662 (next resistance)

Downtrend Support:

$2630-28 (initial support)

$2620 (key support)

Buying Opportunity:

Buy on dips towards $2630-28

Hold for $2655-62

Trading Strategy:

Long positions above $2642

Stop-loss below $2620

Risk Management:

Set stop-loss orders according to market volatility.

Monitor gold's movement closely and adjust trading strategies accordingly.

[whump-help-desk]

What if your whumpee is hit by a chain on their lower back? What are the consequences?

[Post inspired by discussions in the Musketeers Garrison server about the possible consequences of Aramis being hit by the metallic chain during the skirmish in Commodities]

Depending on where the chain hits your whumpee, they may get:

Broken/bruised ribs

Due to the length of the chain, if multiple ribs break in multiple places, whumpee can get a flail chest (sharp, severe chest pain, difficulty in breathing, requires immediate medical attention)

Broken vertebrae/spine (can lead to permanent disability)

Internal bleeding (requires immediate medical attention)

Scars where the chain broke skin

Pissing of blood! This happens due to kidney injury. Depending on the extent of kidney damage, this symptom maybe harmless or very serious. In Grade 1 injury, basically there is a little contusion or a small amount of blood accumulates under the capsule. It resolves over time. In Grade 2 and 3, a small amount of blood collects around kidney. Again, they heal with time. In Grade 4, there is urine leakage and extensive laceration of the kidney blood vessels. It might require surgery. Grade 5 is a shattered or devascularized kidney with active bleeding. It's an emergency

Stiffness of movements (if there is a fight, this lack of agility on part of whumpee can prove costly)

Ignoring the injury for a long duration may cause:

Fever

Chills

Blurred vision

Nausea

Vomiting

Sometimes even convulsions

[tradermade]

Mixed start for global markets today! Explore: https://markets.tradermade.com/forex/forex-newsletter-mixed-start-with-kiwi-nok-gaining. Forex: $NZD & $NOK shine, $JPY & $CHF lag. Asia-Pac surges, Europe flat, US markets up. The energy picks up, and precious metals are mixed.

[crudeinourtrading]

Are We At The “Sweet Spot” to Buy Gold, Silver, and Bitcoin?

Charlotte of Investing News and Chris discussed how the stock market and precious metals will behave going into the end of the year. “I can have a bearish outlook on the markets yet still be in positions. I follow the trends, not opinions, news, projections, etc. No one knows what will happen. I let the charts paint the picture, analyze the information, invest accordingly, and manage the risk.”

Watch Today’s Free Video Here

[myfriendpokey]

That's right - it's the summer of sales. 50% off all objects, items, game units, and things of that nature.

Peace to all within the summer kingdom.

[michaud-joshua-x1496]

After putting Wisp back together, he wanted to give me some furniture, either something I don't have yet, or something pricey.

I chose the former, and you'd never be able to guess what he gives me;

Yes, a toilet.

And I figure I might as well say it for Wario;

So Ein Wisp! (So Ein Mist!)

[trader-sg112]

Gold Prices Hold Near One-Month Highs Amid Fed Rate Cut Speculation: Market Insights and Analysis

In the dynamic world of commodities trading, gold prices have recently been a focal point, with bullion prices hovering close to one-month highs and nearing the pivotal $2,400 per ounce mark. This surge comes amidst mounting speculation that the Federal Reserve will embark on interest rate cuts as early as September, a move aimed at bolstering economic recovery amidst persistent global uncertainties.

Gold's Resilience in Current Market Dynamics

Spot gold, a reliable indicator of market sentiment, experienced a slight dip of 0.3% in Asian trading, settling at $2,384.47 per ounce. Similarly, August gold futures saw a marginal decrease of 0.2%, trading at $2,392.55 per ounce. Despite these minor corrections, the overall sentiment remains bullish, underpinned by investor optimism fueled by expectations of monetary easing by the Fed.

Broader Metals Market Movements

Alongside gold, other precious metals also displayed mixed movements. Platinum futures declined by 0.6% to $1,039.25 per ounce, reflecting varied investor sentiment within the sector. Silver futures followed suit with a 1% drop to $31.370 per ounce, illustrating divergent market dynamics in the precious metals arena.

Impact of Dollar Weakness on Metal Prices

A significant factor influencing these movements was the weakening of the US dollar, which hit a near one-month low. The inverse relationship between the dollar and commodity prices was evident as the dollar's depreciation bolstered demand for commodities priced in USD, including gold and silver.

Copper's Surprising Rally

Contrary to the downward trend in precious metals, copper futures on the London Metal Exchange surged by 1% to $9,983.0 per ton. This unexpected rally underscores copper's critical role as an industrial metal, influenced by global economic indicators and infrastructure developments.

Market Outlook and Strategic Considerations

Looking ahead, market participants are closely monitoring upcoming economic data releases and Federal Reserve announcements for further clues on interest rate adjustments. The prospect of lower interest rates typically supports non-interest-bearing assets like gold, enhancing its appeal as a safe-haven investment during uncertain economic times.

Stay Informed with Spectra Global Ltd

For comprehensive insights into market trends, strategic trading opportunities, and expert analysis on commodities and forex trading, visit Spectra Global Ltd. Our platform equips traders with the tools and information needed to navigate volatile markets effectively.

[nando161mando]

[enigma-the-mysterious]

So yesterday, I had a nap and dreamed that Porthos and Aramis were arguing that ended with Porthos shouting "You want to kiss me so bad it makes you stupid" (Yes, Tumblr has rotten my brain)

Now it is my new conspiracy theory that the real reason Aramis was so stupid throughout the show was because he wanted to kiss Porthos

[thepowerisyouth]

I've been periodically updating my profile photo to show the increasing price of corn 'futures'. Just cause